My Fave Off-White Cream Paint Colour – Creamy
I always get a giggle when my E-design clients say that they love cream, but don’t love yellow. Why is that so funny? Well, because a) I’m easily amused when I’ve had 2 glasses of wine and b) because, without yellow – there is no cream!
Creamy behind the mirror and on the wall in the reflection
The basic idea behind cream is that you start out with a light yellow paint colour and you add a neutral base to it, like beige/black/gray. Once you start doing that, your ‘yellow’ turns into a cream. The more neutral you mix into it, the less yellow it gets until you eventually have beige or greige. You’ll also find creams with notes of orange, red or green in them, adding more layers of flexibility.
Now, if you’ve read my colour review on BM Gentle Cream, you’ll have learned about a ‘heavy cream’ – a cream that is not ‘fresh and light’, but has a bit of weight to it. You might have also explored my review of BM Ballet White, which is on the very EDGE of cream/beige/greige. So today, we’re going to talk about a DIFFERENT type of cream – one on the lighter, fresher end of the scale – Sherwin Williams Creamy.
The Undertones of Creamy
YELLOW! Surprise surprise! Well, actually, yellow is its ‘colour’, but what it has is a NEUTRAL undertone that calms it down, so that it’s not day-glo yellow – it’s cream.
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It also has a tiny touch of an orange feel, via the beige in it, which stops it from being as yellow toned as SW Dover White (which I find a touch too yellow, personally).
The LRV of Creamy
If you aren’t familiar with LRV, you should read this, it’s a game changer when choosing colours – trust the Ginger. The basic idea is that the higher the LRV number is, the lighter a colour is; the lower the LRV number is, the darker the colour is. Creamy has an LRV of 81, which in the colour world is PRETTY DARNED HIGH and plants it nicely in the off-white range.
Creamy in a South Facing Room
South facing light is a warm, yellow light. This light will enhance warm colours, bringing out their glorious warmth. So, when you put Creamy in a south facing room, you can expect that creamy yellow warmth to rise UP and become more noticeable. You may find a similar effect in the afternoon in a west facing room.
These 2 photos show the ABSOLUTE warmest Creamy will look (south facing/warm bulbs)
The same thing will happen in the evening if you have warm bulbs in your fixtures, as shown below.
Read more: The Best Paint Colours for a South Facing Room
Creamy in a North Facing Room
I LOVE Creamy in a north facing space, I feel like that’s where it’s at its very best. Northern light is a gray light with a blue cast. This light calms Creamy right down, so it acts like a soft, subtle warm – almost not creamy colour. There is still residual warmth in it, but it’s not noticeably ‘yellow’. (You may find a similar effect in an east facing room).
Shown here with BM Cloud White trim
And take a moment to look at those last 2 photos. Same area, but the top photo is in the evening and the bottom photo is in the daytime – just shows you how much colour changes throughout the day!
Read more: The Best Paint Colours for a North Facing Room
Creamy in a Dark Room
Well, I’ve said it before, and because I like to hear myself talk, I’ll say it again…
‘If you have a dark room, there is no paint colour that will save you’ – Moi
You need to improve your interior lighting before you can find a paint colour that will work. Sure, Creamy will ‘help’ and might reflect a bit of the minimal natural or artificial light it’s given, but don’t expect it to work wonders if it’s not GIVEN enough light.
Creamy in a Bright Room
Well, with that killer high LRV, you can totally expect Creamy to wash-out on a well-lit wall – particularly at the height of day with direct sunlight on it. In a ‘generally’ bright room, it will hold itself as a soft warm white/off-white as long as it has some white (trim/cabinets) to contrast with.
Creamy on Trim
This is where you want to be careful. Whereas Creamy is gorgeous on walls, it’s a tougher sell on the trim. Because it has that creamy warmth, it’s a harder one to partner up with paint colours on the walls compared to more flexible whites and off-whites.
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Read more:
Colour Review: Benjamin Moore Gentle Cream
Colour Review: Benjamin Moore Ballet White
I will add that creamy is a great exterior trim color. It’s not too white and it doesn’t go yellow, like say BM linen white. I personally think it’s got a teensy bit of green in it.
Loved this article! How does Sherwin William’s Antique White compare to Gentle Cream? Is it between Creamy and Gentle Cream? I’ve run across several pictures of Antique White and really like it. Thanks!
My entryway and front hall (which face East) are painted Sherwin Willians “creamy” and it’s so beautiful! I love it! It’s such a pretty color! My trim is Sherwin Williams “Extra White” and the rest of downstairs is painted Revere Pewter. The colors look nice together!
Our builder’s default trim color was Creamy (2009) and it worked with the colors and finishes used then. Now that we have updated our wall colors to brighter/fresher, we will be painting all the trim–mostly because of Creamy’s extreme variability. In some rooms, Creamy is fine and looks fairly “white” and in others it looks dingy or oddly, gray. I think Creamy is a color that has to be really really tested in context and next to any hard finishes. Just my 2 cents 😉
Ooo yes, it is a tricky one! It’s all about exposure and ‘what it’s with’. And it’s a tough one on trim too, I always find it interesting when builders veer away from more standard whites – personally, I think Creamy is best for walls only!
I’ve heard that Creamy is the closest color to the “white” furniture from Pottery Barn. Would you agree with that or is there another color that is a better match?
Hi Mary Ann, I’m just not sure, unfortunately we don’t have a Pottery Barn here!
Can Sherwin Williams “Alabaster” be used for trim with Creamy on the walls? Is there enough contrast using both together?
Yes, it would be soft and subtle, but quite pretty! I might ask them to add 4 ounces of white to Alabaster, which just cleans it up a wee wink (and improves the coverage of it too).
Hi Kylie, I always find your articles fun and interesting, thank you!
I have been on the hunt for a warm off-white paint color for the majority of my main floor. I’m currently testing SW Creamy on few walls but unfortunately, it’s not quite ‘it’, I think I would like it just a smidge less yellow but still warm and maybe a bit more neutral – any suggestions?
I, like you have a weakness for creamy colors, I had Gentle Cream for 15 years and loved it. Finding the right ‘white’ is honestly the most challenging color I have ever picked. When searching the web, I always find similar suggestions for whites – Dove White, Simply White, Decorator’s White etc. It would be nice to see suggestions for some other whites that are maybe not quite as ‘white’. Maybe – Gasp light beige! Ok ok, maybe we could call it sand. Yes, an off-white or sandy white, a white that looks lovely with wood tones, one that would be beautiful in a cottage or farmhouse. One with enough depth to show some contrast next to white trim (mine closely resembles BM Snowfall White) but is still light and fresh. With all the white right now, it would be nice to see more ideas for whitish wall paint colors. Are you pondering anything? If so, please share your wisdom.
Thanks so much, Susan in Alberta
Hi Susan, I wonder if you might like SW White Duck perhaps????!
I’ll have a look at White Duck, thanks so much! White is tough!